Inevitable
by cj10824
Summary: As a teenager, Gabriella's dreams of dating her neighbor and good friend Troy Bolton were shattered. Now years later after college, Troy invites her to a party at his house. Will history repeat itself or will Gabriella finally get her wish? Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to High School Musical or the lyrics from the song "Inevitable" by Anberlin.

**Inevitable**

**I wanna break every clock  
The hands of time could never move again  
We could stay in this moment  
For the rest of our lives**

The street was lined with cars. Music was blasting from the speakers both inside and outside the single story white house with blue trim in the town of Albuquerque. Gabriella Montez rang the doorbell and nervously rocked on her heels while waiting for someone to answer the door. Her gaze locked on her own house next door, almost wishing she could run back to the comfort of her own room. She wasn't one for big parties. And she was especially not looking forward to this one.

Almost immediately the door swung open revealing a brown-haired woman in her early fifties bearing a warm smile that Gabriella had missed.

"Gabriella!" A smile formed on her face as the woman wrapped her in a big hug. "Hi sweetheart. How are you? It's been so long."

"I'm doing great Mrs. Bolton. How are you?"

"Sweetie, how many times have I told you to call me Lucille? We've been neighbors for years. We're hardly on a last name basis."

Gabriella giggled as Lucille's eyes scanned over her sundress with Hawaiian flower print over her black bikini. "You look beautiful Gabriella. I didn't think you could get more beautiful, but look at you." Lucille pulled back, her arms still on Gabriella's shoulders, admiring her once again.

"Thank you Lucille." Gabriella blushed at her sincere words.

"I can't believe it's been four years. Your mother was over here yesterday and we were both tearing up about how wonderful it is to have our babies back home from college."

An image of her blue-eyed, brown-haired next door neighbor popped into Gabriella's mind—the guy who had often filled her thoughts for the past four years. If she was honest with herself, she knew he'd been on her mind for much longer than that.

"Well Gabriella, come inside. Why stay out here talking to an old lady when you can go catch up with all of your friends? Come in, come in." Lucille pushed the door open more and ushered Gabriella inside.

"Lucille, you are not old! And you know I love to talk with you." Gabriella insisted while they stepped inside, her eyes taking in the ambiance inside the Bolton home, realizing nothing much had changed in four years.

"We can catch up later dear. I have to go kick Jack out of his chair as I'm sure he's plopped himself down in the den to watch the game when he should be barbequing outside like I told him."

Gabriella giggled and nodded her head, beginning to make her way towards the back door. "Make sure you say hello to Troy, sweetie. I know he's been looking forward to seeing you again."

Gabriella tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, blushing lightly before sliding open the door and stepping outside. Even though she had been dreading this party, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited to see Troy.

Gabriella let her eyes wander over the backyard. A few picnic tables were set up on the back patio, various snacks and drinks on top of them. To her left, a few guys were playing a game of basketball. To her right was the same playground set that had been there for years. And in front of her was the pool that was changing colors from blue to green to white to red every few seconds as the lights switched. The sound of the small waterfall that carried water from the Jacuzzi to the pool below could be heard.

Her eyes scanned over the faces of those in the pool and at the tables and lounge chairs surrounding it, trying to locate familiar faces. Her eyes landed on a group of three familiar girls sitting at a small table to the right of the pool.

"Gabi!" Gabriella smiled as the blonde-haired girl dressed in a bright pink bikini yelled out her name, waving her over.

"Look at you! You look gorgeous!" Gabriella had little time to react before she was wrapped in a hug.

"Hey Shar! You look great too." Gabriella turned to look at the other two girls and walked over to give each a hug. "Hey Tay! Hey Kels!"

Gabriella pulled out the fourth chair at the table and took a seat. "Some party huh? There are a lot more people here than I thought there would be. I feel bad, but I don't recognize most of these people."

The three other girls giggled softly. "It's okay Gabi. Some of these people are from high school, some are from the U of A, and a few are Troy's friends from USC." Taylor informed her, all of them glancing towards the pool.

"Well that makes sense then."

"So Gabi, tell us. How was Stanford? Excited to be back home?" Kelsi asked, taking a sip of her water.

"Stanford was great. I absolutely loved the campus and my classes and everything. But, I love being back home too. I know my parents and my sister love that I'm back for awhile too. Being away for so long and only coming home for Christmas really took a toll on all of them."

"Yeah, my parents are excited that I am back home from Colombia too…even though I'm going back at the end of the summer to start graduate work," Taylor said.

"Same with my parents. My mom broke down when she saw me the other day, and my little brother wouldn't let go of my leg for hours." Kelsi laughed at the memory. "Although I missed them a lot too."

"I bet your parents are happy you stayed local huh?" Gabriella asked Sharpay, who was nodding in agreement.

"Yes, but I am so happy I was able to get an apartment off campus. I couldn't have dealt with living at home all four years and commuting." Sharpay laughed, tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

Gabriella caught sight of the sparkling ring on her left hand. "Shar, are you engaged?"

Sharpay smiled, holding her hand out towards Gabriella. "Yes! I just got engaged a few weeks ago."

"To who?"

"Hey baby." Gabriella felt her jaw drop seeing Chad kiss Sharpay on the cheek before gently grabbing her hand and twirling the ring on her finger.

"Chad?" Gabriella asked incredulously.

"Oh, hey Gabi!" Chad greeted, noticing her for the first time. Gabriella stood up as Chad walked over, giving him a friendly hug, before sitting back down. Chad lifted Sharpay out of her chair, sitting down and pulling her onto his lap.

"So when did all of this happen? Last I heard you were dating that guy Jonathan that you met that was in the play you did senior year."

"We broke up a few months into freshmen year. Chad and I started dating towards the end of freshmen year, and we've been together ever since." Sharpay smiled, wrapping her arms around Chad's neck and quickly pecking his lips.

Gabriella smiled, amused at the couple she would have never predicted to get together.

"Hey Chad," someone said as they came up behind Gabriella and upon hearing the voice, Gabriella's breath hitched in her throat. "My mom says she knows it was you who stole a slice of cake, and that if you want dinner, you better stay out of her kitchen."

Sharpay smacked Chad across his head, scolding him causing Kelsi, Taylor, and Troy to erupt in laughter. Gabriella however didn't even register what was going on. She was too busy trying to keep her nerves under control when the guy who'd been on her heart and mind for years was standing directly behind her.

"Troy, you guys should really put a door and a lock on your kitchen. You know Chad can't stay away from food." Taylor snickered as Chad sent her a glare.

"Yeah, I told my mom to hide the cake, but she claimed that Chad would have matured in four years and would no longer sneak food."

"And how wrong your mom was because I will be sneaking food till the day I die," Chad laughed, Sharpay rolling her eyes in response.

"Hey, let me grab a chair and I'll join you guys." Gabriella heard a chair scratching against the cement, and heard footsteps behind her once again.

Seconds later, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, sparks shooting through her at the contact. "Sorry. Would you mind if I squeezed in right here?"

Gabriella turned and looked up at him. Dark brown met light blue and Gabriella heard Troy take a sharp intake of breath. "Gabi?"

Gabriella grinned nervously. Upon seeing her grin, Troy's face broke out into a smile. "Gabi! Hey!" Troy gently tugged on her arm, pulling her up and pulling her into his arms. In spite of the millions of butterflies inside, Gabriella felt herself relax into Troy's arms, inhaling his scent that she had missed the past four years, trying to memorize everything about this moment.

"I didn't know you were here," Troy said, pulling back from the hug, but keeping his hands on her shoulders. "I was hoping you could make it."

"Thanks for inviting me Troy." Gabriella said, her eyes locked on Troy's, both of them missing the knowing smiles on the faces of the four people at the table.

"Of course! We've been friends and neighbors for years. A few years at college doesn't change that. It's great to see you." Troy pulled her into another hug.

"It's great to see you too. I bet your mom is glad to have you home again." Gabriella said as the two separated.

"Oh, she is," Troy laughed and Gabriella joined in. "I'm sure you've heard about our moms crying tears of joy for us coming home."

"Your mom was telling me."

"Yeah, and imagine this. I came home and the two of them were in the kitchen, bawling as they made chocolate chip cookies."

"No way!" Gabriella giggled.

"Yeah! And, those cookies were a little bit saltier than normal," Troy joked, the two joining in laughter once again.

"How did they react when they saw you?"

Troy rolled his eyes, recalling the moment. "Well, I had to yell out 'MOM' a few times before she even realized I was there." Gabriella giggled, Troy smiling at her before continuing. "Then she spun around, dropped the spatula that was in her hand, and almost knocked me over as she hugged me. She cried for a bit, getting tears, along with the flour and cookie dough all over my new shirt."

"I think I can safely say you had a worse experience than I did. My mom cried a little bit, but my dad pulled her off of me before she could suffocate me."

"Well, I wish your dad would have been there when I got home."

"Uh oh. What'd my mom do?" Gabriella asked, a wide smile painted on her face.

"Right when I was finally able to loosen my mom's grip on me, your mom…I guess overcome with emotion…ran over and hugged me as well, mumbling something like, 'Troy sweetie, you've grown into such a handsome young man.' And then my mom sobbed, 'I know', and the waterworks started up again."

The two couldn't control their laughter, still holding onto each other, oblivious to anything else going on.

"Sorry, you had to go through that," Gabriella managed to say, once her laughter had died down.

"It's okay. Hey, would you like a drink or something?" Troy offered.

"Sure, that'd be great."

"Sure thing. Anyone else want anything?" Troy turned to look at the other people at the table, only to find they had all left. Gabriella glanced at the table, and blushed realizing that she was so caught up in her conversation with Troy that she missed them leaving.

"Since they all ditched us, care to join me?" Troy asked sweetly. Gabriella nodded, and Troy held out his arm, ushering her forwards before walking next to her.

They walked side by side, a bright pink color decorating both of their cheeks as they exchanged glances while their hands accidentally brushed together a few times.

"Punch okay with you?" Troy asked, grabbing two glasses. Gabriella nodded and Troy grinned before scooping some punch into each of their cups.

Troy handed Gabriella her cup before holding out his arm, pointing towards the porch swing in the corner. "Want to take a seat?"

Gabriella nodded timidly and followed Troy, their arms brushing as they sat down. "So genius girl," Troy smirked, nudging her with his arm. "How'd Stanford treat you?"

Gabriella giggled, taking another sip of punch. "It was amazing. I missed all my friends and family out here, but I was glad for all the experiences and things I learned there. Doing summer research and going abroad were some of the best moments of college."

"You went abroad?" Gabriella nodded. "Where to?"

"I spent a semester in Norway junior year and did lots of traveling through Europe."

"That's awesome! I kind of wanted to go abroad, but I couldn't with basketball."

It was Gabriella's turn to nudge him. "That's right, basketball superstar!" She felt her heart soar seeing him blush. "Kyle was always talking about the mighty Trojan point guard, and how difficult it was to stop him. I can't tell you how many nights I listened to him ramble about how his team couldn't contain you."

"Kyle?" Troy asked, picking up on the name. "Kyle Landers?"

Gabriella nodded, frustrated with herself for letting his name slip. The name of the one person she wished she could forget about.

"How did you know Kyle?"

Gabriella sighed. "I met Kyle junior year in a psychology class. We got partnered up for a project."

"So just friends?"

Gabriella shook her head, mentally kicking herself for stepping into this conversation. "No, we dated for a year and a half."

Troy sensed the hurt in her tone, and placed his hand gently on her knee. "End badly?"

Gabriella laughed sarcastically. "You could say that." She turned to glance up at Troy, and the look in his eyes urged her to continue despite her nerves. "Senior year I went down to LA to surprise him and watch him in the Pac-10 Tournament."

"You were there?" Gabriella nodded. "You should have come and found me. I would have loved to see you."

Gabriella smiled before continuing. "I wasn't there for very long. I found him and another girl kissing in the hallway before the game." Gabriella blinked back a tear, refusing to cry anymore over him. "I immediately ran out to my car and drove back to Stanford. The guy still had the nerve to call me that night saying how much he missed me and how he couldn't stop thinking about me. Needless to say, I broke up with him."

Troy shook his head, anger rising as he wished to go find him and beat the crap out of the guy for hurting her. "If I would have known, that shot he took to his nose as he drove the lane would have been deliberate and much harder."

Gabriella giggled. "Oh, thank you for that by the way." Troy's confused look prompted her to continue. "Seeing him walk around campus with a bandage on his nose for two weeks, and then seeing him wear that mask the rest of the year during games put a smile on my face."

Troy laughed. "Well, no problem then. I seriously wish I would have hit him harder now. It was an accident, but if I had to do it again, he'd be walking away with more than a broken nose."

Gabriella was unable to hide the grin forming on her face. "Thanks Troy. I appreciate that." Gabriella saw him staring down at her, and nervously took a sip of her punch, trying to conceal her blush.

A puzzled look graced her face, seeing Troy reach his hand up towards her face. Troy gently grabbed her chin in one hand, and Gabriella remained frozen at his actions. With his other hand, he took his index finger and wiped the corner of Gabriella's mouth.

"You had a little foam from the punch there," Troy said, grinning as he released her face from his grip.

"Thanks," Gabriella said breathlessly, her face blushing a bright pink tint. "So what about you? Any girlfriends in college?" Gabriella kicked herself for bringing up the subject, but she couldn't help her curiosity.

Troy shook his head, taking a sip of his punch. "Not since Christina during freshman year."

Gabriella felt a pang in her chest at the mention of the girl that had caused her so much heartache. Christina Matthews came to their school in eighth grade and had instantly won over Troy's affection. The two began dating towards the end of that year and had been together through high school. Gabriella still remembered the day that she had tried to forget so many times—the day that brought her so much heartache as a young teenager.

"_So I'll meet you in a few minutes at my house?" Troy asked Gabriella as the bus pulled up to their stop on the street corner, one Friday afternoon. _

"_Yeah," Gabriella grinned, trying to hide her excitement. "I just have to drop off my stuff and leave a note for my mom." _

"_Alright, don't forget the movies," Troy reminded her, and the two eighth-graders shared a shy smile before he stood up and swung his backpack over one shoulder. _

"_I won't," Gabriella promised, also standing up and watching Troy walk down the aisle towards the door. _

_Taking a few moments, Gabriella took some deep breaths trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach. Gabriella wasn't a stranger to hanging out at the Bolton house, but today was different. Troy had invited her over to watch movies and hang out while their parents all went out for the evening. It had been a few months since she'd first realized she had a crush on her neighbor, and she secretly hoped that he asked her over because he felt the same way, and that maybe by the end of the night she would have experienced her first kiss. _

_Lost in her thoughts, Gabriella exited the bus, not seeing Troy walk in his front door with Christina, their hands tightly grasped together. _

_Gabriella rushed upstairs to her bedroom, quickly changing out of her jeans and t-shirt into a white knee-length dress with a black floral print and solid dark blue straps that matched the solid blue stripe around the waist. Quickly pulling her hair out of a ponytail and allowing it to fall so it framed her face, Gabriella grabbed a few movies out of her cabinet, jotted a quick note to her parents, and darted out the door. _

_She walked quickly over to the Bolton's front door, doing her best to keep herself from getting too excited. After ringing the doorbell once, Gabriella nervously smoothed out her dress and tucked a stray curl behind her ear just as the door swung open. _

"_Hey!" Troy greeted as he opened the door fully, ushering her inside. "Come on in." _

_Gabriella timidly stepped inside, glancing over her shoulder to see Troy shut the door. "So I brought some movies," Gabriella said proudly, holding open the plastic bag in her arms filled with a few DVDs. _

_Troy peered inside and nodded his head in approval. "Great choices. You want something to drink?" _

"_Sure that sounds good," Gabriella replied, nervously swinging the bag side to side. _

"_Okay, take a seat and I'll bring you something. We have water, Sprite, grape juice, Pepsi, and iced tea. What would you like?" _

"_Iced tea would be good." Gabriella requested softly, too nervous to look up at Troy. _

"_Iced tea it is. I'll be right back." _

_Gabriella watched as Troy went towards the kitchen before making her way into the family room to take a seat. Stepping into the room, she stopped abruptly seeing Christina grinning at her from her place on the couch. _

"_I didn't know if you wanted crushed or cubed ice, so I hope crushed is okay." Gabriella averted her eyes from Christina to Troy as the sound of his voice filled the room. Troy handed her the glass with a grin, and she shyly grabbed it from his hands. _

"_Um, yeah. This is great. Thanks," Gabriella said, her voice cracking slightly prompting her to take a sip of her drink, her eyes drifting back to a smirking Christina. _

"_Oh, hey Gabriella, you know Christina right?" _

"_Ye-yeah, we're in English and History together," Gabriella forced herself to say, her mind stuck on wondering what Christina was doing there. _

_Troy stepped from beside Gabriella and walked towards the couch. "Well, I invited Christina over too. I hope that's okay," Troy added while taking a seat right next to Christina. _

_Gabriella was about to respond, but felt her breath catch in her throat and tears sting her eyes as she saw Troy lean over and place his lips on Christina's, the two smiling into the kiss. Willing her mind to think quickly, Gabriella blinked away a few tears. _

"_Um, I have to go," Gabriella muttered, placing the bag of movies on the coffee table before spinning around, her feet quickly carrying her to the door. _

"_Wait, wait, wait," Troy's voice rung out. Gabriella could hear him moving towards her, but she kept moving, needing to get away from Troy more than anything. Her plans were halted though when she felt a strong hand grip her shoulder gently, spinning her back around. _

_Gabriella kept her eyes focused on her feet, not bothering to look up at Troy even when he bent down below her eye level to try to look in her eyes. "Gabriella? Where are you going? I thought we were going to hang out." _

"_I uh, I forgot I have to work on a paper for Science class," Gabriella murmured with a shaky voice, trying not to break down. _

"_That paper isn't due till next month. Are you sure everything's okay?" Troy bent down lower, still trying to look into her eyes, but Gabriella shifted her eyes the other way. _

"_Yeah, I'm fine Troy. I like to get an early start on my homework. I'll see you Monday." Gabriella gently brushed his arms off of her and opened the door handle, feeling the cool outside air brush against her face as she stepped outside and shut the door, not bothering to look back at Troy. _

_As quickly as her legs could carry her, Gabriella ran over into her front yard, shakily unlocking the front door before running inside and collapsing on her bed. Tears ran freely down her face as she realized all of her hopes from earlier that day had been completely shattered. _

Gabriella was brought out of her thoughts as she felt a hand gently rub her forearm.

"Hey, you okay?" Troy asked, noticing the hurt look on her face. "I thought I lost you there for a second," Troy added lightheartedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry." A small apologetic smile made its way to her face, to which Troy shook his head assuring her everything was fine. "So what happened with Christina, if you don't mind me asking?" Her nerves were almost making her feel sick, but Gabriella couldn't stop herself from asking.

Troy shook his head and leaned back in the seat, tentatively placing his arm along the back of the bench behind Gabriella. "I don't mind at all," Troy assured her before continuing. "I broke up with her freshman year partly due to the distance since I was at 'SC and she was still here at U of A, but honestly, I should have ended things long before that."

"How come?" Gabriella asked, shifting slightly in her seat so she could face him better.

Troy sighed, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. "I realized I had fooled myself into thinking there was something more there. I mean, when we started dating, we were so young. Back then, it was just young crushes we had. Then throughout high school, it was all about status. Despite how it looked, we never were really in love. So, a few weeks after starting at USC, we ended things."

"No girls caught your eye at USC? I'm sure that as the starting point guard, you had tons of girls just waiting for you to look their way." Gabriella grinned, seeing him blush slightly while he chuckled nervously.

"No, not really. Honestly, after everything with Christina, I really thought about what I wanted for a relationship, and I kinda had a particular girl in mind that no one else could come close to."

Gabriella felt her heart sink, cursing herself for even letting that slight bit of hope come back in. She had been having mixed feelings about this party—part of her wanting to stay away and protect her heart, and the other part of her wanting to take the risk and see Troy, wanting to know if there was a chance with the guy who had stolen her heart years earlier. But now, she felt herself wishing she had stayed home as she realized it was all just a false sense of hope.

Not wanting to dwell on the situation anymore and risk shedding tears she knew were slowly filling her eyes, Gabriella scanned the backyard, hoping to find some excuse for her to slip away.

"You sure you're alright?" Troy probed again, seeing her eyes glisten with unshed tears. Troy reached out to place a comforting hand on her arm, but Gabriella quickly stood up.

"I'm great. Don't worry about me," Gabriella said a little too quickly, blinking away a few tears. "I'm going to go see if I can find Taylor. It was nice catching up with you Troy. Thanks again for inviting me."

Not giving him a chance to respond, Gabriella spun around and quickly disappeared into a group of people gathered around the table filled with drinks and food. Pushing past them, she made her way into the house, hoping to sneak out the front door unnoticed.

"Gabriella sweetie, are you leaving?" Cursing herself for not walking faster, Gabriella took a deep breath before turning around to face Lucille, hoping her face didn't reveal her emotions.

"Yeah, I forgot I had promised my sister that I would help her with a school assignment," Gabriella lied, hoping it was believable.

"Oh, well too bad you couldn't stay longer. It was good seeing you again." Lucille wrapped Gabriella in a hug. "Don't be a stranger, okay?"

Gabriella nodded as Lucille released her. "Thank you Lucille."

Gabriella pulled open the front door and made her way outside, a strange sense of déjà vu from over nine years earlier hitting her as she made her way over to her own house. Wiping away a stray tear as she walked inside, she decided that she was stronger and wouldn't let the situation eat at her any longer.

After taking a shower and spending a few hours reading a book curled up on the couch, Gabriella decided to go lay down on the lounge chair outside. Grabbing her sweatshirt and a blanket off the couch, Gabriella stepped outside and lay down in the lounge chair. The sounds of the ongoing party from next door filled her ears, hearing the music playing softly and a few guys yelling as they played a game of basketball.

Gabriella jumped at the sound of a basketball hitting the sidewalk in her backyard, bouncing onto the grass and rolling to a stop just to the left of Gabriella.

"I'll get it for you guys. Hang on!" Gabriella cursed under her breath hearing Troy's voice grow closer. Realizing she didn't have time to run inside, she decided to sit there, hoping Troy would just retrieve the ball and go back to the party.

Gabriella kept her eyes focused on the stars as she heard Troy's feet hit the ground loudly after he hopped over the fence, pulling the blanket up slightly in a weak attempt to hide herself.

"Hey."

"Dang it," Gabriella muttered under her breath, sitting up and looking over at Troy. "Hey."

"Sorry," Troy apologized motioning towards the ball which he picked up with one hand.

Gabriella smiled weakly at him, wrapping herself more tightly in her sweatshirt. "No problem."

Troy smiled back before turning towards his backyard. "Heads up!" Troy yelled out before chucking the ball over the fence. Gabriella felt herself grow nervous as she saw Troy grin at her before walking over to the chair next to her.

"So what happened to you earlier?" Troy asked, leaning on the back of the lounge chair next to her.

"I forgot I had some stuff to do." Gabriella said, hoping he'd drop the subject.

"Oh. Well, I tried to find you after you took off, but my mom said you went home. She said it looked like something was wrong. Anything happen?"

"No, everything's fine," Gabriella lied again.

"Ah, okay. You mind if I join you?" Troy asked, motioning towards the lounge chair.

Gabriella shook her head, watching as Troy sat facing her on the lounge chair.

"Can I ask you something else?" Gabriella looked up at Troy and nodded apprehensively. "Why did you take off so quickly earlier? Did I say something wrong?"

Gabriella sighed, shifting so she was sitting on the edge of her chair, her legs wrapped underneath her as she faced Troy. "No you didn't. It's just me and my own issues. Don't worry about it."

"Issues with me?" Troy pushed further.

"No, nothing that you've done," Gabriella said quickly before taking a deep breath. "You really want to know? It's kind of stupid."

"I'm sure it isn't. And yes, I want to know if you don't mind telling me."

"Okay," Gabriella sighed, her eyes focused on the tiny blades of grass on the ground as she couldn't believe what she was about to do. "I sort of had a big crush on you through junior high and high school, and hearing you talk about Christina tonight just brought back some painful memories for me."

Gabriella nervously brought her eyes up to Troy to see him with a soft smile tugging at his lips. "That's no issue," Troy assured her. "And actually, I already knew about that."

"You knew?" Gabriella's jaw dropped. "Who told you?"

"My mom," Troy stated simply, continuing when he saw her confusion. "In case you missed it, our moms talk Gabi."

"I can't believe you knew. For how long?" Gabriella asked, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"Not too long. My mom told me a few weeks ago when we started planning this party."

"Why would she tell you then? I told my mom about my crush on you years ago."

Gabriella felt her breath catch in her throat as Troy scooted a little closer to her, his eyes sparkling with a bit of hope while his hands shook with nervousness.

"She told me that because I was getting so nervous about inviting you tonight. I thought that after all of these years you would have forgotten about me, and that some guy would have already won your heart. But my mom told me that you had feelings for me throughout high school, and she told me that your mom had shared how you still asked about me all the time."

"I'm going to kill my mom," Gabriella said jokingly, earning a few chuckles from Troy. "This is so embarrassing," Gabriella muttered, averting her eyes to the stars.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed," Troy encouraged her, reaching out and taking her hand in his in a bold move. "To be honest, I was always asking about you as well. My mom told your mom all of this too, so we're even there."

"Darn our moms and their friendship," Gabriella joked, doing her best to keep her voice steady as she had many butterflies in her stomach from the feeling of Troy's thumb caressing her hand.

"Listen Gabi," Troy's whispered softly, the moment becoming more intimate as Troy grabbed her free hand, mimicking the same motions as he was with her other hand. "You left earlier before I got the chance to really tell you what I wanted to say. Remember when I was talking about that girl I had in mind that no one I met at school could compare to?" Gabriella nodded weakly, unable to speak at the moment, afraid of another breakdown. "Well, it's you. You're that girl."

Gabriella felt her breath catch in her throat, not believing that she had actually just heard those words coming from Troy. Seeing that Gabriella remained quiet, Troy continued hoping to clarify things. "I've felt this way for a long time actually. Even back in eighth grade, but back then I was too stupid and got caught up with Christina, and you know the rest."

Troy released her left hand and brought his hand up to rest against her cheek, guiding her eyes towards his.

"I know now that I hurt you back then, and I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am. But I was hoping that you'd give me a second chance now."

Troy brought his hand down from her face and let it slide down her arm until he took her tiny hand in his once more, his eyes gazing into hers for any sign of her forgiveness.

Suddenly a smile slowly tugged on Gabriella's lips until she was beaming at Troy, nodding her head.

"Really?" Troy couldn't help the smile that was beginning to form on his own face.

"Really." Gabriella whispered as a huge smile erupted on Troy's face.

Slowly letting go of both of her hands, Troy knelt down in front of her and brought his hands to her cheeks, before leaning up and capturing her lips with his in a sweet kiss—one that they both hoped would be their last, first kiss.

**I wanna be your last, first kiss  
That you'll ever have that you'll ever have  
I wanna be your last, first love that you'll ever have  
Till you're lying here beside me with arms and eyes open wide  
I wanna be your last, first kiss for all time**

* * *

**AN: I hope you all enjoyed this oneshot. I know I haven't posted on here for awhile, but I have been working on another story that will be up once I finish it. In the meantime, I'm still co-writing Disguised Affection with Erin (lsr188) and I'm co-writing a story called Trading Letters For Desire that you can find on Dee31's profile. Thanks everyone!**


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